Gaming and the OS X Eco System

A common complaint heard regarding the Mac is that gaming just isn´t big on the platform.

While I believe there is plenty of gaming opportunity on the Mac ,there certainly is some truth to these statements.

Today I would like to explore Apple´s possibilities in the gaming area a bit.


Let´s start out with categorizing the market a bit:

The broadest distinction I can possibly think of would be casual versus hard-core
gaming.I think the main distinction here is time involved.

The typical hard-core gamer will sink any amount of time to hone his or her skills in the latest multiplayer shooter ,while the more casually oriented gamer might just play a couple of hours a week in total.

Mind you,I do not believe that the choices of game genres varies wildly between casual and hard-core gamers,mainly the amount of time invested.

A few examples(Disclaimer.....loads of stereotypes here):

-) A working mother of three might love to play World of Warcraft a bit,mainly to stay in tough with friends who also enjoy WoW a lot. On the other hand Joe Random,living next door,plays 6 hours a day,7 days a week,just to get his shiny new piece of armor.

-) 12 year old Mike really enjoys playing Wii Sports on his favorite Nintendo gadget,so he and a few friends gets together after school twice a week for a serious simulated boxing session. His best friend Jenny loves Rayman on the same platform and plays almost 20 hours a week.

Just in case I haven´t driven my point home clearly enough: I think the key to segmenting the gaming market is along the lines of time spent,not game type(s) chosen.


Of course differing habits engender different point of views and focus points.

If you spend 40 hours a week playing a particular 3-D game,flawless performance will matter a lot to you,so will some variety.

On the other hand, 2 to 3 hours of Pangea Arcade a week do not require an OctoMac.

How does this matter to Apple and the "OS X Eco System"?


Here the interesting part really starts:
Lately Apple has extended their product portfolio quite a bit.
We now have a home theater box,a phone and an IPod all running a version/subset of OS X.
So potentially they have increased the target market for various pieces of Software.

I can´t wait to see how the IPhone SDK will work out,as I believe it is a key factor in evolving the OS X gaming experience.

"Why so?" the impatient reader might ask. Let me provide another example:

-) A new MMO (that´s Massively Multiplayer Online for you) game comes out for the Mac.
It aims at making both the hard-core and the casual gaming crowd happy.

You can make use of four processor cores on the Mac Pro of yours or that to be released IMac for great performance!

It has some nifty features like,checking the game´s auction house system from your IPhone,or,providing some mini games that tie into the main system,but you can play those from the comfort of your Apple TV.

I guess you get my drift. :)


I see this post as a starting point to explore the overall direction Apple is going currently,not just regarding gaming.

Check back for an outlook on IDevices and the Mac Desktop lineup soonish!


Edited February 12th,added some formating